CAR BUYING SCAMS - HOW TO AVOID!

You have finally decided to purchase the new car you have only thought about sitting in your driveway. You have a pretty good idea of what you want and what you want to spend on your new car. Now you head over to your nearest car dealer, and it’s now time to start the negotiating process.

But are you prepared to negotiate for what you want and what you want to pay? In order to avoid CAR BUYING SCAMS, here are 3 Things you should never say to a car dealer if you want to get the best price on your new car.

#1 - “I have X$ to put down on a new car.”

Don't ever tell the car dealer or salesperson how much money you have to put down until you have agreed on a price for the car you want to buy. At this stage of the game, (and it is a game, a negotiating game), you don't know how much the car dealer is willing to deal. But if you tell them how much you have to put down, you can lose your bargaining leverage.

You want to narrow down the options you want on the car and then let the dealer make the first offer for the total cost of the car. With all the problems in the car industry today, car inventories are high and sometimes dealer's will sell at a very discounted price, just to move inventory off their lots.

#2 - “What interest rate is available on financing?”

This is another area you don't want to bring up first. You want to settle on the final price of the car you want before you talk about financing. You don’t want to let the interest rate of a loan have an affect on the price of the car. The dealer could be offering low interest rates as an incentive from the manufacturer, but let him offer it to you first. Otherwise, if you ask first, he may tell you a higher interest rate.

You can also check around with third party financing, like your bank or credit union. Sometimes you get a better rate because you already are established with them. The other thing to be careful of, is you will usually get a better interest rate if you finance for a shorter period of time, like 3 years instead of 5 or 6. Your payments may be a little higher, but you will have your car paid off in a much shorter time frame.

#3 - “I don't know my credit score.”

Your credit score will affect your chance of getting a loan and if your credit score is low, you may not get the lower interest rates that may be available.

So before you go to the dealer, find out what your credit score is. You can get online and get it within minutes. By law, you are entitled to one free credit report per year.

This is just 3 Things to keep in mind when buying a new car. If you want to avoid being part of a CAR BUYING SCAM, then make sure you are prepared before you buy your next car.